HIROFUMI TOYAMA

Throughout his practice, Toyama has consistently engaged in creating paintings that are established through refining the various formal elements that compose them from line, surface and colors, to further addressing the very means and process of their production. White sections that Toyama refers to as ‘vacant spaces’ and ‘remnants’ introduce movement to the austere atmosphere created by the most simple of elements such as ‘horizontality’ (ridge lines), ‘verticality’ (boundaries of space) and ‘obliqueness’ (light and diagonal rays) that instill the rectangular picture plane with the notion of spatiality, thus creating a certain ‘fluctuation’ that brings composure and richness to the painterly space. While his paintings appear reduced to as few functions as possible, they simultaneously harbor a level of generosity that enable a variety of interpretations.

From the spring of this year Toyama has engaged in a new attempt to create single works that comprise of multiple paintings. This exhibition features two sets of works consisting of two paintings of the same size that are placed beside one another. Furthermore on this occasion, the natural light that shines into the gallery space is considered as an important component of the work. Toyama’s perspective that until now had meticulously examined the relationship between painter and painting, or in other words, had focused on the interior of the tableau, extends beyond its contours to contemplate the means by which painting and the outside world influence each other.

Hirofumi Toyama was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1967. He received a Masters in Fine Arts from Aichi University of the Arts in 1997. Currently, he lives and works in Nagoya. He has participated in exhibits and events such as Railroad Siding 2013, Tokorozawa (2013); Aichi Triennale, Nagoya (2010); In the Little Playground: Nobuya Hitsuda and His Students, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art and Nagoya City Art Museum (2009).